What you can and should do about your child's bowlegs

Many babies are born looking bow-legged. It's because of the position they are in inside the womb, so they come out and their legs are often a kind of funny shape. It's very common for a baby to look bow-legged, especially when you hold them up, so their weight is against their feet, let's say, on a table; even before they start walking. It's considered a normal condition under 18 months of age and as a child starts to bare weight on their legs and starts to walk and run around, most of the time they straighten out on their own, and by age 3 it is barely noticeable. In rare cases, if the bow-leggedness continues, your pediatrician may refer you to a pediatric orthopedist. There are some rare diseases that can cause severe bow-leggedness, such as rickets which is a vitamin C deficiency, or Blounts disease, but in most cases, it is a condition that will just resolve itself on its own and nothing to worry about.

Tanya Altmann, MD, FAAP

Pediatrician

A leading medical authority for the popular press and entertainment industry, Dr. Tanya Altmann is a best-selling author, parenting expert and media spokesperson. A working mother and UCLA-trained pediatrician who practices in Southern California, Dr. Tanya is a designated spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, communicating complicated medical issues into easily understood concepts. She is a child health expert for numerous news programs and talk shows including Today (NBC), and KTLA (CW Los Angeles). She stays on the cutting edge through her position as an Assistant Clinical Professor at Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA, as the Chief Medical Advisor for the Newborn Channel and her private practice.

Many babies are born looking bow-legged. It's because of the position they are in inside the womb, so they come out and their legs are often a kind of funny shape. It's very common for a baby to look bow-legged, especially when you hold them up, so their weight is against their feet, let's say, on a table; even before they start walking. It's considered a normal condition under 18 months of age and as a child starts to bare weight on their legs and starts to walk and run around, most of the time they straighten out on their own, and by age 3 it is barely noticeable. In rare cases, if the bow-leggedness continues, your pediatrician may refer you to a pediatric orthopedist. There are some rare diseases that can cause severe bow-leggedness, such as rickets which is a vitamin C deficiency, or Blounts disease, but in most cases, it is a condition that will just resolve itself on its own and nothing to worry about.